[cheers and applause] for while senator mccain was turning his sights to iraq just days after 9/11, i stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. when john mccain said we could just "muddle through" in afghanistan, i argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out osama bin laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. john mccain likes to say that he'll follow bin laden to the gates of hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives. [cheers and applause] and today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from iraq has been echoed by the iraqi government and even the bush administration, even after we learned that iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, john mccain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war. that's not the judgment we need. that won't keep america safe. we need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the idea